My First Laugh
by Kay Farron
Summary: Lightning is trying to move on without fang and failing...will she ever see her love again?
1. Chapter 1

_**My First Flight Fanfic...hope someone out there enjoys it :) big thanks to OerbayunFang for checking out my spelling/grammar for me! Total Legend!**_

**My First Laugh**

It wasn't right; none of it was. Two months after what people now called "The Fall" and Lightning Farron sat on the cold ground, baby blue eyes glued to the crystal pillar now holding up Cocoon.

The people of Cocoon now lived on Gran Pulse; Lightning herself had moved into a small house with her sister in Oerba. For the last two months, Lightning had been faking it: every day she got up to go to work, came home, spent time with Serah and went to bed, all the time faking that everything was fine.

It really wasn't, not at all; for the last two months Lightning Farron's heart had been broken more and more everyday, and today she couldn't take it anymore.

That morning she wasn't able to get out of bed. She lay staring at the wall, cheeks wet from the crying she didn't remember doing. She glanced at the clock on the bedroom wall. It was nine in the morning. She should have been heading for work now, but she couldn't, didn't have it in her to fake it for one more day.

Serah would be up soon looking for her; she didn't care, couldn't bring herself to care about anything. The bedroom door opened, and Lightning closed her eyes to the light that flooded the room.

"Claire?"

It was her sister, no doubt wondering why she wasn't up and getting ready for work right now.

She came and sat on the end of the bed. "Claire, why're you still in bed?" Serah asked. "You're going to be late for work you know."

Silent was the only reply. Wondering what could be wrong with her sister, Serah moved to Lightning's side of the bed.

"Claire, are you sick or someth..."

Serah stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her sister's face: red eyes and cheeks wet from what Serah could only guess were tears. She had never seen her sister look like this before.

Staring at the bedroom wall eyes full of pain and sadness, Serah's heart ached as she sat next to Lightning on the bed, running her hand over her sister's pink hair.

"Claire, what's wrong? What's happened?" Sarah asked.

Her voice was so small and caring it nearly made the older Farron start crying all over again. Silence again was the reply.

"Please talk to me. Whatever it is, it'll be okay."

Lightning's body began to shake, and Serah could hear small sobs so unlike any sound she had ever heard from her sister. Lying down behind the older Farron, Serah pulled her sister into a hug, resting Lightning's head on her shoulder as she softly cried.

Minutes later – but to Lightning, it could have been hours – she looked into her sister's eyes, seeing only love and trust. She had to talk about this, had to let it out, or it would kill her. Hoping that her sister was about to open up, Serah pulled back and sat cross-legged on Lightning's bed. Smiling sadly, she nodded and waited.

Lightning sat up facing her sister and begin to speak. "Serah I...when you were sleeping, in crystal I mean... I met someone." She blushed at her own words, not looking her sister in the eye as she continued. "The last two months I have been trying to move on, to forget about her...but I can't do it anymore."

She heard Serah gasp when she said the word 'her', but continued anyway. "Didn't mean to fall for her...and I didn't really see it myself...until it was too late," Lightning said quickly.

The pain in her sister's voice was shocking but Sarah tried not to show it. Lightning closed her eyes, her head down, hands lying in her lap.

"She's gone and I don't know if she'll ever come back."

A single tear rolled down the pink haired soldier's cheek. She quickly wiped it away and dared to open her eyes to look at her sister. Any other time or place the look on Sarah's face may have been funny: her mouth was open, eyes wide and eyebrows so far up her face they might have flown off her forehead. There were so many things Serah wanted to ask but the first thing that came to mind also came flying out of her mouth without thinking.

"You're gay!" Serah shouted, then put her hands over her mouth.

Lightning just stared at her, face unreadable, and then burst into laughter. Serah soon joined her and the two laughed together; the first-time Lightning had laughed since...

Flashback

Oerba Yun Fang sat with her back to a tree just outside her small home town of Oerba._ Bloody up her own ass, Soldier girl,_ Fang snickered to herself. _What that girl needs is a good..._

"Fang."

Before Fang could finish the thought the voice of the one and only Lightning Farron sounded from somewhere behind her. Standing up, Fang looked around to see the young Soldier heading her way.

_What's that bloody girl after now? Can't I get five minutes to myself? _Seeing Oerba again wasn't easy for Fang; the small town didn't look right without all the people coming and going, laughing and joking going about their day-to-day lives...but Fang didn't show her upset to the others. She had to stay strong for Vanille.

"Fang, I'll take watch now. Go get some sleep," Lightning said.

Fang watched as she moved to take her spot by the tree. The pink-haired Soldier sat down, pulling out her gunblade and a rag, and she began to clean the blade.

"Don't you worry Sunshine. I've never needed much sleep anyways," Fang replied, sitting down beside the Soldier.

"I'll stay; you look like ya need sleep more than I do."

Fang wasn't wrong. Lightning had been pushing them hard all day to make it to Oerba before sundown and the soldier was dead on her feet...not that she would ever let Fang see that.

"I'm fine Fang, really. Go," Lightning replied.

"Nah, think I'll stick around and hang out with my favorite ray of sunshine." Fang smirked at the soldier, who only grumbled; muttering a quiet "Whatever," then going back to cleaning the blood off her gunblade.

Fang leaned up against the tree spreading her legs out, smirking yet again when she spotted the soldier glancing at her bare legs.

This wasn't the first time Fang had spotted the young woman checking her out; a few times now Fang had looked at Lightning to find she was being watched. It was normally her legs and a few times her breasts; Lightning had quickly looked away with a blush. Fang was definitely attracted to the young woman, that was part of the reason she followed her in Palumpolum. But she was also very good at reading people and full-on flirting or coming on to the soldier wasn't going to work here...not that it wasn't fun to try, but with Lightning Farron, this time it was a job for legendary Yun charm mixed with something Fang wasn't all that good at...subtlety.

"So, sunshine where you get that...what do you call it? Gunsword?" Fang asked with a grin.

"Blade, Fang. It's a gunblade. And I was given it by the Guardian Corps," Lightning replied.

Her eyes never left the blade she was still cleaning the blood from. Fang watched closely as the Soldier took her time and with great care removing all the marks that riddled the otherwise-shiny blade of her beloved weapon.

"Well, whatever its called, it's no match for my lance," Fang continued, hoping to drag a reaction out of the stoic soldier, and much to Fang's delight a reaction was what she got. In seconds the soldier was on her feet, gunblade in hand, standing in front of the still sitting and highly amused Fang.

"Wanna test that theory?" she asked, pointing her blade at Fang's face.

Fang only laughed, getting to her feet and retrieving her lance from the ground beside her.

"You're on, Farron. I'll try not to show ya up too much," Fang said with a lop-sided grin.

Before Fang could even ready herself she was dodging a well aimed head-shot, then jumping out of the way only to dodge another – holy shit, she's fast – Lightning was true to her name but Fang knew: Lightning may be fast but she was stronger, she just needed one opening, a change to pin the soldier and she would win.

Pulling off some well-timed swings, Fang managed to knock the soldier off her feet but she was soon up and flying at Fang with deadly determination. Blow after blow, it seemed as if the pair were evenly matched. But one mistake gave Fang the opportunity she needed.

Lightning swung her gunblade at Fang only to be dodged and undercut by her lance; she missed her target only to hit the tree behind her. The blade got stuck in the heavy bark of the tree and left Fang watching the frustrated Soldier attempt to remove it.

If Fang had seen a funnier sight before in her life she couldn't remember it, but watching Lightning Farron yanking with all her might to remove her blade from a tree was absolutely the funniest thing Fang had ever seen. Before she could stop herself she bust into a roar of laughter, stopping the Soldier dead in her tracks.

Stopping a moment to take in the scene, Lightning looked over at Fang, who was now doubled over on the ground crying with laugher; and herself, hands on her gunblade and one foot on the tree. She must've looked so silly right then, and normally that would bother her, but it didn't. Instead of flying into a rage and beating Fang to death with her own lance, she started to laugh – just a chuckle at first, but then she couldn't keep it in any longer. For the first time in nearly four years Lightning Farron was laughing – and not just any laugh, a full hearty laugh, and at herself!

Lightning had never laughed at herself before, didn't see anything funny about her own failings, but right now she couldn't help herself.

Fang stared up from her spot on the ground. She couldn't believe what she was seeing: Lightning was laughing! It was the most amazing and beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Walking up to the pink haired Soldier, who was finally beginning to calm down, Fang saw a look in the young woman's eyes she had never seen before: a soft and almost vulnerable innocence that made Fang's heart skip. This was the change she was waiting for; if there was ever a time to make a move, this was it.

Fang closed the distance between them, placing her palm on the young soldier's face. She gently caressed her cheek. Lightning made no move to stop the woman – only stared into Fang's eyes, a shy smile still playing on her lips. Taking this as a sign Fang placed their lips gently together, softly kissing the soldier as she moved her hands around the shorter woman's waist. Lightning's arms came to rest around her neck.

The second Fang's lips made contact with hers, Lightning was on fire; the sensations running through her whole body were like nothing she had ever experienced in her young life. It was pure bliss. Lightning let out a soft whimper as Fang's lips pulled away. Opening eyes she didn't remember closing to see Fang standing before her with a smug smirk.

"Enjoy that, did ya?" Fang asked with a snicker.

Lightning's reply wasn't at all that surprising. Fang would be needing some of Vanille's healing magic before the end of the day.

_**A/N there it is :) next chapter is coming soon as its done...but gonna take my time as i want to make longer chapters and work on my characters a little more thanks for reading **_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N here is the next chapter...i really enjoyed writing this and I'm hoping i'll get better and better as the chapters go by...btw ff13-2 did NOT happen...this story takes place at the end of ff13...and in middle in the Flashbacks, but im sure you all worked at out for yourself :) also if you like my story so far please Review it. Hope you enjoy it my lovely little Flighters!  
**

...

So here she was. Serah Farron sat next to her older sister Lightning as she stared longingly at the base of Cocoon.

After a morning full of crying, talking, and yet more laughing, Serah had convinced the pink haired soldier to get out of bed. After a quick call to say she wasn't going into work that day, the pair had headed out for a walk, ending up at the resting place of the soldier's love.

Serah had been stocked by her sister's revelation; not only that she was gay but the even more staggering news that her sister, the stoic so-called cold-hearted Lightning Farron had fallen madly in love. Serah knew Lightning wasn't cold hearted, just picky with whom she chose to show her feelings and open up to.

They had talked for hours that morning, Lightning telling Sarah about her time on Gran Pulse and her time with Fang. Serah had sat listening in silence, trying to not to grin at her sister's unfortunate inability to understand her own emotions.

"What happened next after she kissed you?" she asked, smiling at her sister's red face.

"I beat the crap out of her," Lightning replied with an evil chuckle.

Sarah rolled her eyes at her sister and gave her arm a soft smack.

"You know what I mean, Claire! After that."

_Flashback_

It had been three days since the kiss and Lightning had done everything she could to avoid being alone with Fang. She didn't want to talk about it, didn't even want to think about it; but every time she closed her eyes there was Fang, her lips, her soft fingers caressing her cheek and the feeling in the pit of her stomach like fire. No matter how hard she tried it was all the stoic soldier could think about and it was starting to get on her last nerve_._

Lightning had moved away from the main group who were busy setting up camp for the night in Archylte Steppe. After their arrival in Oerba and an almost fatal encounter with Barthandelus, the group had debated whether to take the airship to Cocoon for what they believed would be the final showdown with Orphan, or stay longer in the hopes of being better prepared for what lay ahead. In the end logic prevailed. Their weapons were not yet fully upgraded, so they headed back to the Steppe to better prepare.

None of the others had noticed the soldier retreating to find a quiet spot to be alone and think.

Sitting down by the hot spring near camp Lightning's mind was racing; yes she was attracted to Fang but most of the time she couldn't stand the woman. She was cocky and brash, full of witty comments and infuriating nicknames, but Lightning had also seen the better side of Fang: her warm caring nature and her bravery. She had a roguish charm that was almost bewitching to the soldier and then there was her sisterly devotion to Vanille, something Lightning could admire more than most.

She sighed, laying her head in her hands. How could she have allowed herself to be so open with _Fang_ of all people? What was it about the woman that made it so easy to break through her normally well-trained emotional barriers? Normally only her sister got to see the real Lightning Farron: the young, shy and caring woman under the mask, a woman that would do anything for her only family. She couldn't fail Serah, not again...

Lightning looked over at camp. Snow and Hope were making some kind of crude shelter, smiling and chatting happily as they worked. She frowned as she looked at Snow. She still didn't understand what her sister could see in this guy; sure, he was handsome, if you liked that kind of thing, but he was also a witless moron. Lightning had not pictured her sister with a guy like that. She looked over to the fire where Sazh and Vanille sat chatting as he tinkered with Fang's lance, cleanly adding some kind of upgrade. The only person she couldn't see at camp was Fang.

Lightning cursed softly under her breath. How had her thoughts yet again come back to Fang? She closed her eyes, exhaling in a soft breath. She couldn't let this break her focus, this wasn't the time. She had to save her sister no matter what the cost; but she just couldn't get that kiss out of her mind, couldn't stop from wondering what may have happened had she just given in to Fang.

Eyes still closed, her mind began to wander once more: how Fang's hands would feel on her body, her lips kissing and nipping her neck, the heat of her soft breath on her ear as she whispered her name and nibbled her earlobe, drawing soft moans and whimpers of pleasure from the normally uptight soldier. Without even realizing what she'd done the soldier moaned out loud, however her eyes quickly shot open when she heard a soft snicker from somewhere close by. Looking around in panic and praying it was her imagination Lightning jumped to her feet, red-faced at the thought of being caught fantasising about the huntress.

She glanced back at camp. Everyone was still much where they had been moments ago and there was still no sign of Fang. The soldier knew she had to be around here somewhere and that she had to have heard and seen her little flight of fancy.

"Fang! I know you're here, come out!" the soldier shouted, folding her arms across her chest and inspecting the spring for any sign of the woman.

Fang jumped down from a rock hidden behind a large tree. Grinning from ear to ear she moved across the spring and stood facing the soldier, hands on her hips and head tilted to one side.

"How long have you been there?" the soldier asked with a snarl.

Fang didn't answer and simply continued to grin, playfully rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. Lightning could feel the anger reaching boiling point and took a step closer to the huntress.

"Fang, answer me!" It was clear to Lightning that Fang was not afraid of her; she didn't show any signs of backing away and only appeared amused by Lightning's anger. This only infuriated the soldier further, who was now flushed with rage.

"Ya need to relax, Sunshine, you're gonna bust a blood vessel," Fang chuckled. "Then again you looked pretty relaxed when I got here." Fang continued smirking when the pink haired woman blushed and looked away.

The soldier recovered quickly, however; fists clenched and aiming right for the cocky woman's grinning face. The hit didn't land as Fang catch her hand mid-air with ease. Lightning ripped her hand away from Fang's and with short panting breaths moved a few steps back trying to calm her raging temper. She had known this wouldn't help. Beating Fang wouldn't make things any easier, it didn't before.

Fang watched the woman in front of her, clearly trying to calm herself. Her grin was replaced with a soft smile as she sat on a rock near the enraged soldier. Lightning didn't look at her, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground near her feet as she waited for her breathing to even out.

"So can we talk now, or you just wanna hit me again?" Fang asked, smiling wider when she received a death glare from the soldier.

Lightning, now feeling a little calmer, leaned against a tree facing Fang, never looking her in the eye.

"Oh I want to hit you Fang, but it's not gonna change anything," Lightning replied.

"Tell that to my face," Fang smirked as she repeated the line she had said to the young woman back in Palumpolum.

The soldier merely rolled her eyes, uncrossing her arms and placing then by her sides, still staring intensely at the patch of ground near her feet. "What is it you want from me, Fang?"

Fang stood and walked to stand in front of the disgruntled young woman, placing two fingers on Lightning's chin to tilt her head up, forcing them to lock eyes.

"You know what I want, Light." Fang voice was so soft and caring that once again it totally disarmed the stoic soldier. Lightning simply stared, heart beating so fast it might have jumped out of her chest at any moment. This couldn't happen, she couldn't let it! Quick as a flash she pushed Fang away, feeling a pang of guilt at the look of sorrow in Fang's eyes.

"That's more than I can give, Fang," Lightning said, looking away once more to avoid guilt.

Fang was now pacing, waving her arms in the air dramatically as she said, "Bullshit, Farron! I know you care about me more than you're letting on...about all of us, even Snow!"

Lightning flinched at the mention of Snow and at Fang's angry tone, but didn't back down.

"I care about Serah! I care about ending all this before we all turn into these monsters! I don't have time to play games with you, Fang," she replied with an icy glare.

Fang laugh bitterly. "You think this is a game to me? Ya think I wanted this?! You're dead wrong, but I can't stop thinking about you."

Lightning gasped and staggered back a few steps at brunette's confession, her anger fading as she heard the distress in the tribal woman's voice.

"I can't do this Fang...I'm sorry." With that, Lightning started her retreat, heading back to camp, but stopped when she heard the huntress reply.

"Yes you can Light, you're just too scared to try. Don't you understand you're not alone? We are in this together."

Lightning turned, staring sadly at Fang. She didn't know what to do, how to feel. Part of her wanted to run and never look back, but she couldn't do that to Fang. Seeing the sorrow in the tribal woman's eyes was too much to bear; she didn't want to appear weak in front of anyone, and never Fang.

Lightning figured there was only one way out of this, one way to stop Fang from pushing the issue and leaving her alone: an outright lie.

"Sorry Fang, but I don't feel that way about you." Lightning tried to sound convincing but knew as soon as the words left her mouth that Fang wasn't buying it. She was met with a bitter chuckle from the brunette.

Before Lightning could once again make her escape Fang grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing them face to face. They were inches apart, Fang's voice now a soft whisper. "You can't fool me, Lightning, I see you." Moving her lips to the young woman's ear, she continued in an almost wanton purr. "I kissed you, remember. I could feel your want, your need."

Lightning shivered at Fang's words, her hot breath on the side of her face. It was too much, too close; she couldn't take it. She tried to pull away but Fang's hold was like iron, like a magnetic force holding her in place. She tried to avoid Fang's eyes but could only stare into them helplessly. She felt like a cornered animal, trapped and defenceless, unable to break the brunette's intoxicating spell.

Fang moved closer, pulling the soldier into her arms and pressing their bodies together, faces still only inches apart. She wanted to kiss her, wanted so badly to feel her soft lips once more but didn't chance it, not yet. She needed Lightning to see her, see how much she cared, how badly she wanted the soldier to return her affection.

"I've been crazy about you from the moment I met you. You're so beautiful, Light, so graceful and strong." As she spoke Fang moved her hand along the young woman's cheek, keeping her voice soft and delicate, as if trying to soothe a frighted animal.

"I know you feel the same Light. I've seen the way you look at me." Fang smiled once again when she was met with another adorable blush from the soldier. "Please, Lightning, just talk to me, let me in."

Still unable to look away, Lightning sighed and rested her head on Fang's shoulder, inhaling the brunettes intoxicating scent; wild and earthy, like freshly cut grass after a fall. Her reply was so soft and meek that Fang almost didn't hear it.

"Okay."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N OMG an update! Sorry this has taken so long guys, what with the time it takes me to write it and the time it takes 0erbayunFang to Beta it...well pfff! Anyway this story is only going to be another two chapters long. Enjoy and thank you for all your juicy reviews XD  
**

...

"Do you think they'll ever wake up?" Serah asked with a sad smile, laying her head on her sister's shoulder. They had been sitting for hours now; just talking, enjoying the soft sunset as it reflected off crystal.

"I don't know Serah, maybe not in our lifetime." Standing, Lightning straightened out her jacket before offering a hand to Serah, pulling her up to stand beside her. "We really should go home, it's late."

Serah only nodded, taking one last look at the crystal pillar before walking by the soldiers' side back along the beach.

"I still wanna hear more about Fang." Serah smiled as Lightning only rolled her eyes.

It had helped the soldier to talk about her love and as Lightning walked down the beach that evening she did feel a little lighter, but talking about Fang was only a reminder that it was a very real possibility she would never see the Pulsian again, and that made the ache in her heart double.

"I'll tell you more Serah, just not today," Lightning replied softly.

Understanding the meaning behind her sister's words, Serah only nodded.

Arriving at their small home in Oerba, Serah unlocked the door, kicking off her shoes and making her way into the living room. The house was small with an open plan living room and kitchen downstairs and two small bedrooms and bathroom upstairs, but it was only herself and Lightning so it didn't matter.

Serah had wanted Snow to move in with them when they had first talked about where they would live, but Lightning had flat out refused; claiming that she would more than likely end up killing the giant of a man if they were made to live under the same roof.

Serah glanced over at her sister from her spot on the sofa, who was now in the kitchen making coffee. She was worried about her sister. Losing someone you love was hard for most people; but for someone like Lightning, a person that prided herself on being so strong and independent, that had struggled for years to build this prefect camouflage to hide behind, it was different. No one could harm Lightning Farron, but Claire was another story.

Serah had seen a little of Claire that day; in the way her sister's eyes softened as she spoke of Fang, the way she blushed when she talked about their first kiss. She only hoped it would last. She missed Claire.

Serah was dragged from her thoughts by the sofa dipping beside her and a hot drink being waved under her nose. Taking the offered drink she smiled at her sister, now sitting by her side. She inhaled deeply before taking a sip to find it was hot cocoa. Her sister knew she didn't enjoy the taste of coffee as much as she did.

Serah glanced at Lightning, who was happily enjoying her coffee in comfortable silence. She wanted to help her somehow, end her pain and help her move on but didn't know how.

Maybe she could find someone else for her sister? The younger Farron shook her head at the thought; it had taken her sister a long time to open up to someone other then her. Serah doubted she could find anyone that could pull off a miracle like that again.

Serah chuckled to herself. Fang must have been an amazing woman.

"Something funny, Serah?"

Serah jumped at the sound of her sister's voice. Turning to see the older Farron staring at her with one eyebrow raised, Serah moved a little closer to her sister on the sofa, placing her cup of cocoa on the coffee table and taking the soldier's hand in hers.

"It's nothing really. It'll be ok, you know," Serah replied with a soft smile.

Lightning returned it with one of her own. She adored her sister, so sweet and caring. Lightning had sometimes wondered: had things been different, had their parents never died, had she not had to grow up so fast to take care of her sister, would she be more like Serah? Would she find it so easy to smile, so easy to love?

Lightning gave her sister a quick kiss on the forehead before walking over to the kitchen to wash out her coffee cup. It had been a long day and the soldier wanted nothing more than to drift off to a dreamless sleep, but knew that was unlikely; lately sleep hadn't come easily to the pink haired soldier and her dreams had been interesting, to say the least.

"It's late, I'm heading to bed. I think you should do the same," Lightning said softly, turning to her sister, who was getting up from her spot on the sofa.

"Okay. Good night Claire, I love you," Sarah replied getting up to give her sister a quick hug before running out the door and up the stairs.

Lightning stood alone in the kitchen, glancing out of the window. She watched the gentle wind blowing though the trees. Soon it would be winter on Gran Pulse, the first winter Lightning would ever see. The weather on Cocoon never changed, so the people never got to see rain before the move to Pulse or even wind, just endless fake sunshine.

Lightning smiled softly, remembering the first time she and Serah had seen the rain; her sister had laughed, dancing and running around like a kid on Christmas. The soldier had simply watched with a smile. It was nice to see Serah so happy.

Everyone was happier with life on Pulse; it was harder with the monster attacks and having to find and hunt their own food, but everyone had helped. Amodar had begun to rebuild the Guardian Corps with Lightning's help and started clearing the monsters out of Oerba. Fang and Vanille had become heroes to the people, everyone knowing of the sacrifice they had made to save Cocoon and Lightning had to wonder what Fang would think of Oerba now. Would she like the idea of her home town being full of Cocoonian vipers?

The soldier walked up the stairs to her bedroom to get ready for bed. Pulling off her tee-shirt and pants and getting into bed in only her underwear, she lay on her back staring at the ceiling. Once again her mind was racing with thoughts of Fang, thoughts of that night on the Steppe. They had talked for hours that night, about Fang's life in Oerba before the war, about her and Vanille, and about their feelings for each other. It had been hard for the soldier to talk so openly to someone other than Serah, but Fang was different.

Lightning hadn't meant to fall for the Pulsian, at first she had passed her feeling off as just a crush. Fang was wildly beautiful and had a dazzling smile that could melt the heart of any man or woman. The soldier wasn't immune to her roguish charms but there was something more to Fang and Lightning couldn't help but fall helplessly in love with her and that night Lightning had made peace with the fact that she couldn't fight her feels for the wild huntress.

___Flashback_

It was 4am on the Steppe. Everyone was asleep but for two women sitting and talking softly a little ways from camp. They had been talking all night, trading stories and, in Fang's case, a few anecdotes about her childhood in Oerba.

"I'm telling ya sunshine, I got myself into some real trouble back then, and poor Vanille got dragged along for the ride," Fang chuckled.

Lightning crossed her legs, sitting face to face with the huntress, half smiling at Fang's story.

"Should have known you were a trouble-maker, Fang. Guess some things never change," Lightning replied, drawing a hearty laugh from the Pulsian. It was like music to the soldier's ears.

"Well you see Sunshine, there are two things that even the great Oerba Yun Fang can't resist: a good fight and a beautiful woman," Fang replied with a wink, snickering when the soldier blushed and looked away.

Moving closer, Fang pulled the blushing soldier onto her lap, wrapping her arms around the shy woman's waist. She felt Lightning go rigid in her arms so she began to gently run her hands up and down the soldier's back. This kind of closeness was so alien to Lightning; other than her sister, no one had dared get this close to her, but being here in Fang's arms just felt so right, so good.

Fang could feel the soldier begin to relax but was content to keep running her hands over the soldier's back, resting her head on top of Lightning's. They sat in comfortable silence till Fang felt the need to speak placing her lips next to the soldier's ear.

"I'm so crazy for you. You're so beautiful."

Fang words made the pink-haired soldier giddy; no one had ever called her beautiful the way Fang did. Sure she had heard it before from guys trying to chat her up and her sister always said she would be so beautiful if she smiled more but never before had she believed it, never had the word made her heart flutter.

"Um...Thank you." The soldier's meek reply made the Pulsian chuckle.

"Not used to taking complements, are ya sunshine? Well you better get used it." Fang snickered, placing a soft kiss behind the soldier's ear.

Lightning gasped. Fang always had this effect on her, it was hard to think straight with the huntress this close. The soldier pulled back looking into Fang's eyes. The Pulsian looked far too pleased with herself for her liking and a little too smug. Lightning was about to move from Fang's lap before she lost all control, when suddenly she felt soft lips meet her own. Taking a few moments to recover her senses the soldier kissed back, feeling very unsure of herself. The last time she and Fang had kissed it had been over so quickly Lightning hadn't had time to worry about her inexperience, but this time as her lips moved with Fang's, Lightning was all too aware of the fact that this was her first real kiss, and hoped the huntress wouldn't notice.

Fang moved her hand round to the soldier's front, gently caressing her cheek, the other hand still rubbing up and down the soldier's back under her jacket to feel the soft skin. Lightning's hands had moved to Fang's wild locks, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. The soldier was lost in Fang's lips and hands. She moaned into her mouth, giving the Pulsian the opening she needed to run her tongue along Lightnings lower lip, causing the young soldier to whimper softly and pull harder on Fang's hair. The huntress grunted, sliding her hand from Lightning's back round to her front and under her jumper, softly caressing the skin of Lightning's abdomen before moving up to her breast to graze the tip with her fingers. Lightning quickly pulled away from the kiss with a loud moan, face inches from the Pulsian so their lips were still touching. Her breathing laboured, her heart racing, she gazed into Fang's eyes.

Fang studied the young woman before her. She hadn't expected the soldier to be so innocent but wasn't all that shocked; she could tell this was the Lightning's first real kiss and now, looking into the eyes of her pink haired goddess, Fang was sure this was the closest the women had got to anyone in her young life. Fang placed both her hands on Lightnings face and gently kissed her nose, drawing a soft smile from the soldier.

"I love you, Lightning," Fang whispered, face still inches from the soldier's.

Lightning breath hitched at those words. This amazing woman loved her, she was in love with her. In all of Lightning's wildest dreams she could never have imagined someone like Fang could fall for her, yet here she was in Fang's arms. It was the most incredible feeling the soldier could have imagined; for the first time in years Lightning felt lighter than air. She smiled with true happiness, with a unbelievable feeling of joy she had never felt before. She gazed at Fang who, having watched the play of emotions on the soldier's face, was now grinning ear to ear, Lightning blushed but was unable to stop the smile from growing as the huntress gently tucked a lock of pink hair behind her ear.

"Call me Claire, my name is Claire," Lightning replied before moving in for another kiss.

___End Flashback_

Thinking about that night made the soldier's heart race. She missed Fang so much, longed to kiss those lips again, to gaze into those enchanting green eyes; but now, laying in bed alone, the soldier feared that may never happen, that she would spend her life alone, only able to dream of her lover's soft kisses and tender words of love.

Rolling over onto her side, Lightning closed her eyes, hoping sleep would take her, but was quickly roused by the sound of her phone ringing on the night stand. Picking up the phone, Lightning glared at the caller ID. It was her boss Amodar. Lord knew why he was calling at this hour, but never one to ignore a call from work the soldier flipped the phone open, pressing it to her ear.

"Farron here, sir." She was answered with a chuckle on the other end of the line.

"No need to be so formal Lightning, you're off duty," the man replied with an unseen smile. "We need you down here, ASAP," he continued.

"Is something wrong, sir?" Lightning asked.

There was a long silence before Amodar answered, and when he did Lightning almost dropped her phone.

"It's Fang and Vanille."


End file.
